Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
The Hebrew word for integrity is tummâh, which means innocence. The Bible even speaks about integrity in Proverbs 11:3: The integrity [innocence] of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
This week I have been thinking about the meaning of integrity and how important it is for believers to walk in integrity. The life of Jesus is our perfect example. Jesus never said something to his disciples and then did the opposite of what he said. The “Word that became flesh” could not lie, cheat, manipulate, kill, etc. Jesus’s thoughts and motives were always pure and just. He did not come to impress man so that he could be famous or condemn sinners. He came to save…he came to do the will of the Father.
If we are Disciples of Christ, then our life should also be lived to please God. However, somewhere along the way, church has become a show, but for what? Even worship sometimes becomes about how good we felt and how many people got excited. Isn’t worship supposed to be for God? Isn’t it about the Creator and for His glory? Have we lost our awe and adoration for the One who so loved the world? Have we lost our integrity?
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
This is my prayer for myself: that I continually walk in integrity and that I am found blameless before God. It’s important that we as the church pray this. Do we stand up for our beliefs or assimilate to the ways of the world? We cannot preach the truth and accept a lie. What are we willing to sacrifice to have what we want? Look at Job. He lost and suffered so much, yet he wouldn’t turn from the ways of God. Job 2:9, Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
My questions to you are: What do you think? Have we become like Job’s wife or do stand with integrity?
Angela Akines
